Hermitage Among the Clouds by Thich Nhat Hanh

Author:Thich Nhat Hanh [Warren, Mobi; Laity, Annabel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781935209607
Publisher: Parallax Press

Pearl had never seen the Princess so grief-stricken as the day they received news that the Noble Teacher had departed this life at his Sleeping Clouds Hermitage on Mount Yen Tu. Pearl remembered the date well. It was the third day of the eleventh month in 1308. The Noble Teacher entered mahaparinirvana at midnight of the first day of the eleventh month. At midday on the following day, the temple in the capital received the sad news and a temple messenger was sent to inform King Anh Tong. At that time, Pearl was staying in Self-Blessed Temple on the palace grounds. King Anh Tong summoned his sister, and when she heard the news, Amazing Jewel shut herself in her room for an entire day and night. Pearl was surprised that the Princess did not want to go to Mount Yen Tu to attend her father’s funeral, even though King Anh Tong had sent a messenger to invite her.

The entire country was plunged into grief. The people felt as though they had been orphaned. Pearl herself was unable to attend the funeral rites on the mountain but was told that thousands did. For fifteen consecutive days and nights, bells of mourning were rung in every temple. The Princess knelt all day at Self-Blessed Temple until the vessel containing the Noble Teacher’s relics was brought there from Mount Yen Tu.

Within a month, the Princess became a nun. She was ordained in the Strength of Tranquility Temple by Bao Phac, the National Buddhist Teacher, who transmitted the precepts to her and gave her the name “Fragrant Garland.” The National Teacher was one of the foremost disciples of the Noble Teacher. The day after she received the precepts, Sister Fragrant Garland joined the community of the Strength of Tranquility Temple to pursue her study of the Way together with a number of other young nuns, taught by the National Teacher himself. In the tenth month, he entrusted Sister Fragrant Garland with responsibility for Tiger Mountain Convent in the province of Nam Dinh. The convent was situated on a rocky mountain. When she wanted to visit, Pearl had to travel by boat down Nhi Ha River to Vu Xa from where she proceeded by foot.

The first time she visited Tiger Mountain, Pearl was met by a nine-year-old girl named Dawn at the foot of the mountain, and then led up to the convent. Dawn, the daughter of Mr. Truc who plowed the convent’s rice field, lived at the foot of the mountain and attended the convent school every day. While Pearl waited in the guest room, Dawn went to let Sister Fragrant Garland know a visitor had arrived. Pearl could hear Sister Fragrant Garland ask, “Who is our visitor?” and the child’s reply, “I don’t know, Sister, but she is wearing a very fancy gown.” Pearl could not help smiling. That day she had indeed worn an elegant dress. No one in the countryside dressed like that. Sister Fragrant Garland was overjoyed to see that the guest was Pearl.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.